My personal, stock-up Costco shopping trip

I did a big stock-up shopping trip to Costco last weekend and I honestly thought about recording it and walking you through my trip and showing you how I shop. But then I remembered that I barely know what a vlog is and I’m ridiculous on camera, what with all the giggling and stammering and awkward pauses. We’ll just ignore the fact that I had just been to the gym and hadn’t washed my hair in two days.

However, I know how much y’all love Costco and I thought you might be interested to see what an average shopping trip looks like for our family. We do eat a LOT. We eat mainly whole foods, fresh produce, lean meats and very little dairy or grains. Our household consists of my husband and I, two toddlers boys who eat their body weight in food and my teenage brother who eats everyone’s body weight in food.

Produce

Spaghetti Squash – At right around $4.99 for two, this is a steal! I cut them in half, roast at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, remove the seeds and scrape out the squash “noodles”. Perfect as a substitute for pasta!

Mushrooms – These are a staple in our house. Diced, they help stretch a stew or chili. Sliced, they get sauteed almost every day and mixed in with some greens for a salad. The price is comparable to just about every grocery store out there.

Bananas – We bought four bunches this time and the price? Are you kidding? Cheapest thing Costco sells, I’m pretty sure. If we can’t end up using what we buy, I peel and freeze for smoothies.

Spinach – This is possibly the largest bag of spinach I’ve ever seen and it’s only about $4.50. I’ve seen bunches of spinach at the grocery store for around that price. We use it in green smoothies every morning, sauteed, in omelettes, every where that green stuff should be.

Onions – Because $.39/lb is mad crazy cheap and if I keep the ginormous bag in the garage, they keep forever.

Bell Peppers – I normally don’t buy these at Costco because I balk at paying over $1 per pepper when my kids can annihilate them in 37 seconds. I found these 6-pack bags on instant rebate and the giant peppers ended up being $.87 each. Score.

Frozen Strawberries and Blueberries – Costco’s frozen fruit selection is fantastic and really well-priced. Both of these fruits are priced well under $2/pound and are delicious. We use them every morning in our green smoothies, occasionally we add their frozen pineapple as well.

Other Items From Around the Store

Nutiva Coconut Oil – I have never in my life found a cheaper price per ounce for coconut oil that is actually worth a darn. Nutiva makes a great organic oil that is minimally processed and tastes delicious. It’s right around $.30 per ounce, which is unheard of just about anywhere else on the planet. We use it for baking, roasting, smoothies, cooking eggs, greasing pans and muffin tins, saving the world.

Eggs – It’s hard to beat Costco’s price per dozen. If I have extra money in the grocery budget (which is never), we pick up their organic eggs as well. We go through approximately 172 dozen per week between make-ahead breakfast muffins, gluten-free baking (these people use a TON of eggs) and our daily breakfasts.

Half and Half – At around $3 per half gallon, I rarely find this cheaper anywhere else (and barely try, to be honest). I use about one carton per week in my homemade coffee creamer (either Chocolate Almond or Date Caramel Vanilla).

Cottage Cheese – While we don’t have a whole lot of dairy in our house, this is definitely one of our fridge staples. I use it everyday as a salad dressing and my kids eat small bowls for lunch on occasion. The only time I find it cheaper is when it’s a generic store brand and it’s JUST NOT THE SAME.

This is a pretty standard trip for us. A few things that are missing are organic carrots, raw almonds and organic maple syrup as we had plenty of these in the house already. On occasion we will pick up their organic diced tomatoes and tomato paste as well.

Welcome to This Beautiful Frugal Life!

Hi! I'm Melody from Tri-Cities, WA, the mother of two young boys and passionate about getting fit, eating healthy and saving money. I am dedicated to helping you live a fabulous life for less and hope you will join me on this journey!